Reports: Apple Fires One More Employee In Maps Fiasco

Apple's new iPhone 5 may have been criticised for its glitch-ridden new maps program, but it may have inadvertently provided a diplomatic solution to China and Japan's ongoing row over disputed islands. When a user searches for the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, claimed by Beijing under the name Diaoyu, two sets of the islands appear alongside each other.

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Originally published on November 27, 2012 4:30 pm

In the aftermath of the maps fiasco, the heads continue to roll at Apple. Today, there is news that one more employee has been let go. This time it was manager Richard Williamson, who oversaw the maps project, who lost his job.

"Richard Williamson, who oversaw the mapping team, was pushed out by Senior Vice President Eddy Cue, said the people, who asked not to be named because the information wasn't yet public. Cue, who took over last month as part of a management shakeup, is seeking advice from outside mapping-technology experts and prodding digital maps provider to fix landmark and navigation data it shares with Apple.

"Critics have faulted Apple's new map software for unreliable landmark searches, routes that get users lost and lack of public transit directions."

In the last major release of Apple's mobile operating system software, the company decided to ditch Google Maps for its own version. The move turned out controversial, because the Apple software was just not ready for primetime, giving users incorrect addresses, for example, or sending them across water, or listing businesses that haven't existed for years.

As we reported, earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook fired Scott Forstall, after he was said to have refused to sign an apology over the mapping issue. In a rare move, Cook issued a public apology about the bungled software release.

"At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers," Cook said. "With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."

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